Worship Thru Nu EyesWorship Thru Nu Eyes

I beg you to offer your bodies as a

living, holy, pleasing sacrifice to

God. This is true worship from you.

Romans 12:1b

WorshipWorship

An encounter with the living God, thruthe risen Christ, in the power of theHoly Spirit.

Now that’s worship!

We are connected to God thru Jesus!

Luke 10:22 – Jesus = agent of God, reveals God to those he chooses

Luke 11:13 – Humans can have the Holy Spirit if the ask for it

Luke 24:49 – Holy Spirit will fill humans with power – to do what?

Matthew 28:19 – Clear affirmation of worship definition: God, thru Jesus, in/by the power of the Holy Spirit

The Human ConnectionThe Human Connection

Part 1 – Worship: Focus of Christian Life Part 1 – Worship: Focus of Christian Life HB/NT – Worship God only

Early Church – worship a part of daily lives

Rev. 1:10 – God encountered through worship

Worship – Main component of the New Age to come

Part 2 – Defining WorshipPart 2 – Defining Worship

Notes on HickmanNotes on Hickman Worship is encounter

Celebration of the Gospel: God calls to us through Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit enables us to her and respond (Hickman, 9).

The Gospel is Good News!

Rhythm of call and response brings us into communion

Worship = Drama, rehearsal of Life. God is audience

Variety of Gifts

Hickman ContinuedHickman Continued Central to church as whole; local congregation; Christians’

participation in the church and world. (P. 15).

In worship we discover that we are the church: who we are, and what we are, and what we are becoming by God’s grace. (Ibid.).

Congregation worship makes us the Church. (Ibid.).

We experience what disciples experienced: an encounter with the risen, living Christ. (Ibid.)

The Holy Spirit enabled them to continue encountering the presence of the living Christ, and united them into the church. (p. 16).

That same Holy Spirit does the same for us today thru congregational worship. (Ibid.).

We Are Easter peopleWe Are Easter people

"The key to true, life-giving emptiness or surrender is choice. Theminute you feel other people or external sources are forcing youto surrender, you become a victim. Surrender is a kind of giving,and all true gifts must be freely made."

Ellen Stephen and Doug Shadel, Vessel of Peace, A Guide forPilgrims of the Spirit. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007), 28..

Let’s Talk About It…..Let’s Talk About It….. How central is worship to the

life/existence of your church?

How would your members answer this question?

What is your personal response?

Five Basic Principles of Worship Five Basic Principles of Worship 1. God’s Word is primary

2. Active congregational participation is crucial

3. Spontaneity and order are both important

4. Worship should be relevant and inclusive

5. Worship is communion

Notes on WhiteNotes on WhiteRitual: behavior, repetitive, social activity that serves somecommunal function. (P. 19).

Christian worship Most common form of ritual in many Western societies

Has employed stable and permanent forms/structures = ordo (core Christian pattern of worship. (Ibid.).

White ContinuedWhite Continued There have been various articulations of worship (P. 22); we will

use Florovsky’s definition of Christian worship: An act of praise andadoration, which implies thankful acknowledgement of God’sembracing Love and redemptive loving-kindness.

Both the glorification of God and sanctification of humansCharacterize Christian worship. (P. 24).

Henry H. Knight III:Henry H. Knight III: “Worship which glorifies God at the same timesanctifies persons through forming andshaping distinctively Christian affections.However, when worship has as its overridingpurpose evangelism, therapy, social activism,or any other human-centered goal, it neitherglorifies God nor sanctifies persons. Itbecomes anthropocentric instead oftheocentric. Authentic worship is necessarilycentered on God.”

1st Corinthians 11:27-30: 1st Corinthians 11:27-30: 27So if anyone eats this bread and drinks from thiscup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, he is guilty ofsin against the body and the blood of the Lord. 28That is why a man should examine himself carefullybefore eating the bread and drinking from the cup.29For if he eats the bread and drinks from the cupunworthily, not thinking about the body of Christ andwhat it means, he is eating and drinking God'sjudgment upon himself; for he is trifling with thedeath of Christ. 30That is why many of you are weakand sick, and some have even died.

Worship - the Heart of the Worship - the Heart of the Congregation’s Ministry SystemCongregation’s Ministry System

Recovering Dynamism of Christian WorshipRecovering Dynamism of Christian Worship

“Recovery of the fullness and dynamism of Christian public worshipas the congregation’s central faith practice is crucial as we (ministerin the present) millennium. This is not to make an exclusive claim forworship separate from other practices of the congregation. Rather, itis an assertion that in worship God encounters the community of faiththrough its use of the means of grace, initiating and sustaining thechurch’s ministry of welcoming and transforming people fordiscipleship in all life.

Recovering Dynamism ContinuedRecovering Dynamism Continued

As the church employs the means of grace in public worship, God actsto constitute and form the church for the life of the world.”

Worship Matters, Volume 1, (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1999) 15.

John Wesley on “Means of Grace”John Wesley on “Means of Grace”“The Wesleyan doctrine of prevenient grace simply refers to thegrace of God that goes before or precedes any movement of mantoward God. Grace flows from the Father/Parent's self-giving love forlost humanity (John 3:16-18), and is mediated through the active lifeand obedient death of the Son. The Holy Spirit administers thefinished work of the Son through his convicting, converting,regenerating, and justifying work in the hearts of repentant sinners(John 16:81).”

Wesley ContinuedWesley Continued

“By "means of grace" I understand outward signs, words, or actions,ordained of God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinarychannels whereby he might convey to men, preventing, justifying, orsanctifying grace.”

Wesley ContinuedWesley Continued

“The chief of these means are prayer, whether in secret or with thegreat congregation; searching the Scriptures (which implies reading,hearing, and meditating thereon); and receiving the Lord's Supper,eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him: And thesewe believe to be ordained of God, as the ordinary channels of

conveying his grace to the souls of men.” (John Wesley

A Basic Assertion A Basic Assertion

The Church of today possibly has need to recapture the type ofpower in public Christian worship that draws people to the ChristianFaith, and allows the Church to effectively minister in this presentage. The Early Church Christians understood this, as did JohnWesley, and as do persons of Methodist (and other) traditions today.

(Acts 2: 40-42)(Acts 2: 40-42)

40Then Peter preached a long sermon, telling about Jesus andstrongly urging all his listeners to save themselves from the evils oftheir nation. 41 And those who believed Peter were baptized—about3,000 in all! 42They joined with the other believers in regularattendance at the apostles' teaching sessions and at the Communion

services and prayer meetings.

(Acts 2: 43-46)(Acts 2: 43-46)

43A deep sense of awe was on them all, and the apostles did manymiracles. 44And all the believers met together constantly and sharedeverything with each other, 45selling their possessions and dividingwith those in need. 46They worshiped together regularly at theTemple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, andshared their meals with great joy and thankfulness,

This power can perhaps be recaptured through the Church’s practice This power can perhaps be recaptured through the Church’s practice of of those things that bring one into the presence, love and those things that bring one into the presence, love and understanding of God understanding of God thru individual and corporate worship.thru individual and corporate worship.